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CAS awarded three grants

For Immediate Release: Aug. 11, 2016

BLOOMSBURG — Bloomsburg University’s Celebrity Artists Series received $15,000 in grants and allocations from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation in support of programming for the 2016-2017 season, which includes a new film series, Mostly Mondays at the Movies.

“All grants were competitive and awarded based on the merit of the program and artistic value of the presentations,” said Randall Presswood, BU’s executive director of performing arts and programming.

The grants are:

Arts CONNECT, providing $8,000 to cover a portion of the cost for “Nufonia Must Fall Live,” Saturday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, Mitrani Hall. Scratch disc jockey Kid Koala will present a multidisciplinary adaptation of a graphic novel featuring media, puppetry and live music.

Jazz Touring Network, $3,000 in support of this season’s only Pennsylvania performance by the new soul-fusion band, The Suffers. The program, on Feb. 26, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. in Mitrani Hall, will be offered in celebration of Black History Month and is co-sponsored by BU’s Multicultural Center. BU has presented 18 Jazz Touring Network grant-funded artists since becoming a member of the network in 2002.

On Screen/In Person, $2,400 to help fund the screening of six new independent films and presentations by the filmmakers. All films, part of CAS’s new Mostly Mondays at the Movies series, will be shown at 7 p.m. in Carver Hall, Kenneth S. Gross Auditorium.

Mostly Mondays at the Movies

“The Celebrity Artist Series has partnered with On Screen/In Person, a Mid-Atlantic regional independent film festival, to bring some of the finest new films, directors and cinematographers to Bloomsburg,” Presswood said. “Six films, with topics ranging from health, health care and social awareness to women’s empowerment, murder, nature and Earth will be screened on Mondays or Wednesdays, accompanied by one of the professional filmmakers involved in the making of the documentary.”

The film schedule is:

“Sweet Dreams,” Monday, Sept.12: A group of Rwandan women defies the devastation of genocide to form the country’s first all-female drumming group and open the country’s first ice cream shop, embarking on a journey of independence, peace and possibility.

“You Belong To Me, Sex, Race and Murder in the South,” Wednesday, Oct. 26: On Aug. 3, 1952, in Live Oak, Fla., the heart of the Jim Crow South, Ruby McCollum, the wealthiest black woman in Suwannee County, Fla., shoots and kills state Senator-elect, Dr. Clifford LeRoy Adams. More than 60 years later, the scars created by the case are felt in Live Oak, a town where descendants of both the killer and the victim still live.

“Love Thy Nature,” Monday, Nov. 7: The award-winning film narrated by actor Liam Neeson takes viewers on a cinematic journey through our relationship with the natural world and reasons that a renewed connection with nature is the key to our well-being and to solving environmental and climate crises.

“Hilleman — A Perilous Quest to Save the World's Children,” Monday, Feb. 6, 2017: This documentary tells the story of Dr. Maurice R. Hilleman, who prevented pandemic flu, developed the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and invented the first vaccine against human cancer. Hilleman’s work is credited with saving more than 8 million lives a year.

“Real Boy,” Wednesday, March 8, 2017: As teenager Bennett Wallace navigates the ups and downs of gender transition and grapples with a history of substance abuse, he embarks on a journey to find his voice as a musician, a friend, a son and a man. Filmed over four years, “Real Boy” explores the complexity of addiction, the healing power of music, and the importance of family.

“States of Grace,” Monday, April 3, 2017: An intimate look at the transformation of Buddhist physician Dr. Grace Dammann and her family in the wake of a life-changing accident, and the transformative path to recovery.

Tickets to all films, $4 at the door or $3.50 in advance, include admission to the pre- or post-screening discussions with the film professionals. Tickets for all movies are available at the Haas Center Performing Arts Box Office, 570-389-4409.

Celebrity Artist Series 2016-2017

Shows scheduled for the new CAS season, all beginning at 7:30 p.m., are:

Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation develops partnerships and programs that reinforce artists’ capacity to create and present work and advance access to and participation in the arts. Established in 1979, the foundation is one of six regional arts organizations in the United States and primarily serves Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Virginia and West Virginia.

Bloomsburg University is one of 14 universities in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. The university serves approximately 10,000 students, offering comprehensive programs of study in the colleges of Education, Business, Liberal Arts and Science and Technology.